Chapter 24 – Targeted
"Orochimaru, have you heard of the boy named Uchiha Nan?" The Third Hokage suddenly asked.
Orochimaru, who had been preparing to leave after failing to get what he came for, paused in his tracks when he heard that name. He turned back and replied,
"I've heard of him. They say he's an extremely talented medical ninja. Opened his Sharingan at a young age...
Isn't he known as the Uchiha clan's number one prodigy?
Why are you suddenly asking about him, sensei?"
The Third Hokage nodded slightly, then said,
"This child just applied for early graduation. Given his mature medical ninjutsu and his Sharingan, technically, he's qualified to become a full-fledged ninja.
But... he's only six.
With the current state of the world, I'm not sure it's appropriate to send someone that young into the field.
I wanted to hear your opinion."
Orochimaru gave his answer without hesitation:
"If he's qualified, let him graduate.
Didn't Kakashi graduate at five?"
But the Third Hokage had his reservations.
The circumstances now were far different from back then.
When Kakashi graduated, the situation was still relatively stable.
He followed the normal path—starting with simple missions like any other genin.
But now, with the war escalating, once Nan graduates, he'll likely be assigned to the battlefield right away.
"To send a child so young into the horrors of war… it just feels wrong," Hiruzen muttered, his brow furrowed.
Orochimaru, of course, understood the Hokage's concern.
After all, the founding of Konoha by the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara was meant to protect the next generation from the endless cycle of war.
But ideals had long been eroded by reality.
As the war intensified, more and more compromises had to be made.
The graduation age for the Ninja Academy had already been pushed down from twelve to nine.
It completely went against the First Hokage's original dream.
But Orochimaru didn't care about such sentimental things.
In fact, he wanted Nan to graduate as soon as possible.
By this point, Orochimaru had already started delving into his research on immortality—experiments that required a great number of human test subjects.
And war… was the perfect cover to quietly gather those materials.
But even so, handling all the experiments alone had become overwhelming.
"If only I had a gifted medical ninja… someone talented, obedient, and trustworthy to assist me…"
This was one of the main reasons Orochimaru had come to meet the Third Hokage today.
Yes, partly to report on the status of the Wind Country front lines—
But more importantly, he was seeking approval to become a jōnin instructor, so he could take on a personal disciple.
He had already reviewed the list of upcoming graduates…
but to his disappointment, none of them showed exceptional potential.
Orochimaru had almost resigned himself to choosing the "tallest among dwarfs"—finding the most promising among the average and training them from scratch.
That is… until the Third Hokage uttered that name: Uchiha Nan.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's interest was piqued.
"Uchiha Nan… Yes. I've looked into him before."
In truth, he had always considered Nan the ideal candidate to become his disciple.
Back when Orochimaru first began developing the Immortality Technique, he'd already planned to recruit an exceptional medical ninja to assist him.
Given the secrecy required for many of his experiments, it was imperative to train someone he could trust—someone who wouldn't expose him.
He had screened many candidates over the years, but none had met his standards.
Until he found Uchiha Nan.
A boy with exceptional medical talent, awakened Sharingan, and no living relatives—an orphan with no real ties to the village.
If properly guided, shaped, and molded…
"He could become the perfect assistant…"
Orochimaru had once heard that Nan had an older brother named Uchiha Han. He had originally planned to "accidentally" eliminate this brother—so that Nan would be left without support, making it much easier to bring him under his control.
But later, Orochimaru heard that after Nan's mother passed away, the psychological blow had been so severe that it left the boy emotionally unstable.
He hesitated.
If he got rid of Han and left Nan truly alone, the boy might completely break. That would ruin everything.
So, for the time being, Orochimaru shelved that idea.
Coincidentally, during his current visit to report on the situation at the Wind Country frontlines, part of his mission involved submitting a list of Konoha casualties and missing-in-action ninjas.
That's when he happened to notice a name on the list—Uchiha Han.
A ninja with a kekkei genkai like the Sharingan would be highly coveted on the battlefield. Most likely, he was killed by an enemy who then took the body to study or steal the Sharingan's secrets.
Normally, Orochimaru wouldn't care about such a trivial matter.
But this was Nan's brother.
And just as this was happening, Nan submitted his application for early graduation.
It was perfect.
A plan began to form in Orochimaru's mind. Once again, he considered making Nan his primary choice for a disciple.
He turned to the Third Hokage and said:
"I heard Nan has already awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan.
Even if he's still young, his current strength is at least that of a chūnin.
If you're truly concerned about his safety, then… let him join my team.
I'm planning to become a jōnin squad leader this year.
Under my guidance, I assure you, he'll be perfectly safe."
The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully.
Orochimaru was his own student—he knew better than anyone just how powerful and capable Orochimaru was. If anyone could ensure Nan's survival, it was him.
Plus, relations between the village and the Uchiha clan were becoming increasingly strained. If Orochimaru, the Third Hokage's most prized disciple, could take Uchiha Nan—the clan's top prodigy—as his personal student, it might help ease tensions between the two sides.
The Third Hokage saw it as a win-win situation.
He agreed to Orochimaru's request: once Nan graduated, he would be placed on Orochimaru's team.
---
Leaving the Hokage's office, Orochimaru decided to find Nan right away—to see for himself whether the boy's mental state had stabilized, and perhaps casually inform him of his brother's disappearance.
"If he can handle the emotional blow, then it'll be the perfect opportunity.
I'll appear before him as a wise, powerful mentor—offering comfort in his moment of grief.
That will lay the foundation for me to bring him fully under my wing."
As a high-ranking ninja of the village, finding Nan's location was a trivial matter for Orochimaru. With just a few inquiries, he learned that Nan was currently at the Konoha Hospital.
He headed there directly.
Once inside, he approached a nurse and asked where to find Nan.
Orochimaru was a well-known figure in Konoha—respected, feared, and recognized instantly. The nurse, clearly nervous and eager to help, hurried off to find Nan and asked him to come to the front desk.
---
At that moment, the "Nan" in the hospital was actually a shadow clone.
He had originally dispelled all his clones, but the hospital had become so overwhelmed with patients that all doctors and medical-nin were being pushed to their limits.
Nan, feeling it was the least he could do, decided to leave one clone behind to help out.
This clone wasn't treating patients at the moment—it was casually chatting with a colleague: Nonō Yakushi.
A name that only true fans of the original story might recognize.
But everyone would know her adopted son—Yakushi Kabuto, the future major antagonist of the series.
Nonō was now the head of Konoha's orphanage. Like Nan, she had come to the hospital voluntarily to assist during the crisis. The two got along well.
They were just discussing Nan's early graduation—and how he might be heading to the battlefield soon.
Coincidentally, Nonō herself had recently volunteered to be deployed to the frontlines—back to the Wind Country, where she had been stationed before.
Nan fell silent at that.
"If I remember correctly… it was in the Wind Country that she met Kabuto, wasn't it?
During the early stages of the Third Great Ninja War.
Should I… try to change the tragic fate that awaits them both?"
Just as he was deep in thought about Nonō and Kabuto, the nurse returned—calling out to him from a distance.
"Nan! Someone's here to see you. He's waiting for you at the front desk!"
Nan blinked in confusion.
"Who would be looking for me at this time?
Is it Guy? Or maybe Kakashi's back?"
But when the nurse said the name, Nan froze in shock.
Orochimaru.
"What?!
Why the hell is he looking for me?
How did I end up on his radar?!"